---
id: CVE-2026-89749
title: 'kernel: tracing: Fix crash passing ERR_PTR to kthread_stop() (CVE-2026-89749)'
summary: >-
  A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. Specifically, within the tracing
  subsystem, the `event_test_stuff()` function can pass an invalid error pointer
  to `kthread_stop()` if `kthread_run()` fails to create a kernel thread. This
  improper han…
severity: medium
cvss: 5.5
cvssVector: 'CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:L/UI:N/S:U/C:N/I:N/A:H'
cvssSource: vendor
cwe: CWE-476
vendor: Red Hat
product: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
affected:
  - enterprise_linux 10
  - enterprise_linux 6
  - enterprise_linux 7
  - enterprise_linux 8
  - enterprise_linux 9
  - openshift_container_platform 4
published: '2026-09-11'
updated: '2026-09-15'
sourceUpdated: '2026-09-15T08:13:21+00:00'
source: CSAF
sourceUrl: 'https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-89749.json'
references:
  - url: >-
      https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-89749.json
  - url: 'https://access.redhat.com/security/cve/CVE-2026-89749'
  - url: 'https://bugzilla.redhat.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2532518'
  - url: 'https://www.cve.org/CVERecord?id=CVE-2026-89749'
  - url: 'https://nvd.nist.gov/vuln/detail/CVE-2026-89749'
  - url: >-
      https://git.kernel.org/pub/scm/linux/security/vulns.git/plain/cve/published/2026/CVE-2026-89749.mbox
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c1a4fb7aa290f158d50654d640292e49d9055fd1'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/42ccb215ef0a552acbbd32f81009bfe4b278ba77'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/98d06fb9865a490e12ebe32d65b9ffac6108614d'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/ceb1707aef5824cf024eb82d10787b7621e2ff35'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/12a499f741fc5be3731c8b0a0d909406575cc2eb'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/adadf4192f700bca82abfda9fa6d58c0bf37cc04'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/c40e0b4fa365969e67011529eabdfb66d1022256'
  - url: 'https://git.kernel.org/stable/c/649bc7df3e5d7be6f7996a95084037dbf3cad1e5'
tags:
  - csaf
  - vex
  - red-hat
  - cve.org
epss: 0.0022
epssPercentile: 0.11137
ingestedAt: '2026-09-14T15:23:07.448Z'
---

## Overview

A flaw was found in the Linux kernel. Specifically, within the tracing subsystem, the `event_test_stuff()` function can pass an invalid error pointer to `kthread_stop()` if `kthread_run()` fails to create a kernel thread. This improper handling of error pointers, particularly under memory pressure, leads to `kthread_stop()` attempting to dereference an invalid memory address. The consequence of this vulnerability is a kernel crash, resulting in a denial of service for the affected system.

## Vendor advisories

- **Red Hat VEX** · Low · affected: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9, Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4 · no fix planned: Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7, Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8, … · updated 2026-09-15 · [vex](https://security.access.redhat.com/data/csaf/v2/vex/2026/cve-2026-89749.json)

**kernel: tracing: Fix crash passing ERR_PTR to kthread_stop()** — rated Low by Red Hat. Released 2026-09-11, updated 2026-09-15.

Affected:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

No fix planned:

- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 10
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8
- Red Hat Enterprise Linux 9
- Red Hat OpenShift Container Platform 4

## Remediation

Out of support scope